Welcome to Figwee

This tour will provide a good overview of just some of the functionality available to Figwee members. For more
detailed information, feel free to also explore any of the help topics listed at right. Thanks for checking out
Figwee.

The Food Diary page is where you record the food you consume. As you make entries in the Food Diary, Figwee tracks your nutrition information and displays
a running account of how many calories you have left to meet your goals. The Food Diary determines "calories in".

Note how the Figwee Food Diary uses photographs to show you exactly what you have eaten during the day. The photographs match the portions you ate.
If you ate five slices of bacon, five slices of bacon are shown in the diary view. If you ate 2 slices, 2 slices are shown. The photos help in
unexpected ways too...don't see enough color, maybe you need more fruits and veggies.

The Figwee PortionRight system is the reason "Figwee" is fast becoming synonymous with portion control.
The PortionRight dialog features two slider controls, one on the left of the food photo and one to the right. The left hand
portion slider displays a scale in grams, while the right portion slider displays a scale in ounces. To set the portion for a
food, you just click and drag the blue slider button. As you drag the slider, the food photo will automatically change to reflect the
selected portion, release the slider button when you "see" the portion you ate. No more guessing.

Figwee provides two photo angles to choose from when using PortionRight: a top view and a side view. The top view is essentially what you would see if you were
sitting at the table, and is best at showing how much area the food covers on a plate or bowl. With the side view, you are looking edge on, and this perspective
allows you to determine the height of the food; especially great for beverages.

How many photos does Figwee have?
At last count, Figwee has almost 30,000 food portion photographs, with more being added all the time.

The Figwee search facility provides a unique visual way of finding things in the Figwee database of foods, activities, and result trackers.
In Figwee, even search is photographic. You type a few letters, and Figwee returns pictures of matching items. Type some more, and the number of
photos returned is narrowed.

The Figwee Nutrition Facts shows aggregate nutrition information for all of the food entered in the food diary
for the current day. It is similar to labels you see on food packaging, but represents the total nutrition for
all of the entries in the day.

Figwee will display the number of calories you have remaining for the day under the Nutrition Facts information. The value displayed is
your target calories minus the number of calories you have consumed (entered into the Food Diary). There are two ways your target calories can be established as
determined by your Settings:

First, you can set an explicit constant number of calories as your goal, for example, 2000. If you do this, the calories remaining value
will simply be your fixed number of calories minus the calories consumed. There is no adjustment made for exercise or activity.

The other means of establishing the target number of calories is to let Figwee dynamically calculate it for you based on your activity entries.
If on the Settings page you specify a weekly weight loss of a particular amount, say one pound, then Figwee will adjust your target
number of calories based on an estimation of calories burned by adding up your activity entries for the day. In this way, you can "earn" the right to consume more
calories by increasing your physical activity while still meeting your weight loss goals.

You can also configure Figwee to track net carbs instead of calories. Figwee is a tool that can be applied to a number of fitness strategies. Do what works for you.

The Food Diary, Activity Log, and Results Log all feature a "My" List on the left side of their respective pages. The
purpose of the "My" lists are to make frequently used items readily available. The My lists also allow for the customization
of items, so that your preferences for settings such as portion size can be remembered and automatically used the next time
you add that item to a diary view.

With My Foods, you can rename any food item, you can edit the calories or nutrient values, and you can add brand new items to the database yourself, even
reusing our photos if you like. You can also categorize and sort My Foods to make things easy for you to find.
No other system provides this level of customization, or a better ease of use. When you search the Figwee database, your customized foods are included right
along side Figwee built in foods. Tracking calories just doesn't get any easier than this.

The Activity Log is where you record the activities and exercise you do throughout the day. This is where "calories out" is determined. The Activity Log is also photographic.
You search for activities and exercises visually, select your intensity, and record the number of minutes. Figwee uses this information to create an accurate estimate of your
actual calories burned.

Unique way Figwee calculates calories burned...
If you don't tell it otherwise, Figwee assumes you are completely
sedentary. That's 24 hours of 60 minutes each of basically either
sleeping, or lying on the couch. For every minute you account for in
the Activity Log, a minute is subtracted from this sedentary default.
If you enter an hour of elliptical in the activity log, then Figwee
will assume 23 hours of doing nothing (e.g. about 1 MET), and 1 hour
at 7 METs.

When you look at an activity entry you see both "calories burned" and
"calories earned"; the difference between these two numbers is what you
would have burned had you remained inactive.

Figwee encourages you to be more active, so that you earn more calories.
This is the best system ever for accounting for calories burned.
Most calorie counters ask general questions about your lifestyle and
take an average guess about what you will burn.
Figwee allows you to track calories burned more completely, on a daily
basis, according to what you actually do.

Figwee Discussion Group - Online Interactive Help and Encouragement

If there is a question you have that is not answered in this tour, there is another
great resource available: the Figwee Discussion Group.
Information there is available from both Figwee staff and users like you. It is a great place to get your
specific questions answered, to make comments and suggestions, and to make friends with other
Figwee lovers. Give it a try.

"I have been using Figwee for about 3 weeks now and have lost almost 10 LBS!!!!!!. Thanks for making such a great site...
I couldn't have done it without Figwee."

"Portion control has ALWAYS been my biggest struggle, having this tool to help measure things out is going to be awesome for
me! Thank you so, so, so, so much for making this available to me!"

"I want to thank you for making figwee and I love everything I have seen! You are the best!"

"I have been using Figwee as a tool for about 4 months and I have lost 30lbs. I hope you enjoy Figwee as much as I do
and also have success."

"WOW, this site is one of a kind! AWESOME! We love it so much we can't help but
spread the word. I believe we tell at least 2-3 people a day. I always
get a great reaction when they check it out for themselves. I
personally have lost 6 pounds. I know I have much to go but this is
such a great tool that I know will help! THANKS FIGWEE!"

"I went to figwee and instantly I found it to be user friendly. How to use the program by pulling the pictures of foods and in less than 10
minutes I found how much carbs, fats and protein I consumed for breakfast, lunch and supper. This was an eye opener for me since I try to
watch what I eat. Thanks figwee. "

"...this is an awesome tool and my wife and I both have been using it for just over a week. It has helped us greatly in keeping track of
what we eat as well as letting us know is that something that we want to eat or can afford to eat. My wife is very visual and we both like
the instant feedback from the site on how we are doing. This is excellent for us. She has already lost 5 lbs and myself 3. "

"I LIKE IT!!! I can see that even though I am staying in my calorie range, too many of them are coming from not-so-good sources."

"I've lost two pounds -- on schedule according to the charts! Thanks! this is a great tool! "

"Thanks for the site, guys. I am really enjoying using it. I have seen an improvement already in the way I am balancing carbs with
proteins and fats more."

Figweeosophy:

Figwee is photographic because people have a visual relationship with the world.
Humans are better at finding things with visual image recognition than scrolling through long lists of text.
It's the way we work, so it's the way Figwee works.

Food for Thought:

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.-Confucius

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore,
is not an act but a habit.-Aristotle

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.-Robert Collier

First say to yourself what you would be;
and then do what you have to do.-Epictetus

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.-Ralph Blum

Energy and persistence conquer all things.-Benjamin Franklin

My strength lies solely in my tenacity.-Louis Pasteur

Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.-Dale Carnegie

The contents of this site do not constitute medical advice.
This site offers health, fitness, and nutritional information, and is designed for educational purposes only.
You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
The use of any information provided on this site is solely at your own risk. If you are seeking medical advice, please consult
a medical professional. You should always consult a physician before starting a fitness program, changing your diet, or
if you have any questions.